The New Secretary
by Sara K M
Summary: Pre Movie. Drake's life as Mr. Warbucks's butler was pretty good, until Mr. Warbucks hired that new secretary, Miss Farrell. (Implied Oliver/Grace if you squint.)


The New Secretary

 **I don't own** _ **Annie**_ **.**

 **In a traditional household like Oliver Warbucks, the** _ **butler**_ **is in charge of all the servants. In the movie** _ **Annie**_ **, however, it's quite clear Grace Farrell is in charge of Mr. Warbucks's household. So I wondered how that began, and what Drake (the butler) would of thought of Grace Farrell when she became "the household manager." (I would assume the previous private secretaries** _ **were**_ _ **not**_ **in charge of the household.)**

Drake had been working for Oliver Warbucks since the Great War. He thought becoming the butler to the man who was suppling the Allies with weapons was quite patriotic, particularly for a man who was too old to serve in the war. After the war ended, he kept his position. After all, it came with a great salary and great benefits. He was allowed to live in one of the largest mansions in the world. All Drake was required to do was manage the household servants and provide Mr. Warbucks with anything he asked for.

Mr. Warbucks could be difficult sometimes, Drake admitted. He expected to receive whatever he wanted _immediately_ , and the boss screamed and threw things when that didn't happen. Still, Drake that didn't bother him that much. Certainly not enough quit his job.

Many of the other employees found Mr. Warbucks _way_ too difficult to work for, however. Drake was regularly introduced to new maids, laundresses, and gardeners. It made household management a bit of a challenge, but Drake learned to handle it. Still, out of all Mr. Warbucks employees, none of them disappeared as fast as his private secretaries. The boss went through them faster than a man could drink a glass of brandy! Drake had lost count of the amount of young women who left the mansion crying or screaming that they could never work for Mr. Warbucks, no matter how much he paid them. Still others, Mr. Warbucks fired, claiming they weren't efficient enough for whatever reason.

Drake had never paid much attention to the private sectaries, therefore. He knew they wouldn't be staying very long, and since they worked directly _for_ Mr. Warbucks, they weren't even under his management. So when Mr. Warbucks hired Miss Farrell, Drake barely noticed. But as the months past, the new secretary met the challenges that was required. He even noticed it wasn't uncommon for her to sleep on the sofa in the office so she and Mr. Warbucks could work later.

When Miss Farrell had worked for Mr. Warbucks for close to a year, she was given room and board at the mansion. Drake supposed that made some sense. After all, it looked like _this_ secretary might stay long – term. And if she was going to be spending the night here on a regular basis, she should have her own room.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Then one day, Drake was discussing the dinner menu with Mrs. Pugh. "I think Mr. Warbucks would appreciate a nice stew tonight. Real thick with gravy. Perhaps there will even be enough leftovers for the employees' tomorrow night."

But Mrs. Pugh shook her head. "Actually, I been instructed by Miss Farrell to cook something lighter tonight. She said Mr. Warbucks wants to work through dinner again, and he usually prefers something easier to eat in those cases. I think he would like a plain baked potato and a good steak better. _Without_ gravy."

Drake nodded and walked away. Mrs. Pugh's reasoning made sense, but he was a bit upset that Mrs. Pugh listened to a mere _secretary_ instead of the head of the household.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Another day, Cecile didn't seem to be washing Mr. Warbucks sheets as she was supposed to. "Cecile, those sheets _must_ be washed," he told her firmly. "You know this is a part of your job." He didn't try to hide his disappointment as he looked at her. Cecile had always been a fairly good maid, he didn't understand why she was neglecting her duties like this.

Cecile looked at him in surprise. "Miss Farrell told me not to worry about that today, Drake. She's going to buy Mr. Warbucks some new sheets while she picks up his new suits."

"I see," Drake replied, not sure what else he _could_ say in that case. Miss Farrell again. Was the staff starting to listen to the _secretary_ more than the butler?

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Drake made sure to inspect the swimming pool regularly. After all, he knew Mr. Warbucks enjoyed a morning swim whenever he was home, so it was particularly important that it be in working order. But somehow, the boss jumped into the pool one day and jumped back out, shivering. How could Drake have missed that, he wondered. The pool's heater was obviously broken. Drake prepared himself for the screaming and lecturing he would receive from Mr. Warbucks. After all, it was his job to make sure everything in the house was running smoothly.

But to Drake's surprise, his name wasn't even mentioned as Mr. Warbucks screamed and cursed while he dried off. Instead, the boss called for Miss Farrell. "Miss Farrell, call the repairman! I need this blasted pool fixed by tomorrow! And this better not _ever_ happen again!" He threw a chair in the air as he said that. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone this time.

"Yes, sir," Miss Farrell's voice replied from upstairs in the office.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Finally, one day, Drake had enough. _Everyone_ listened to the secretary more than the butler now. Drake still gave Mr. Warbucks a drink, or a newspaper, or something like that. But the rest of his job had somehow become Miss Farrell's. Who did that woman thinks she was? As Mr. Warbucks ate his breakfast (Mrs. Pugh made what _Miss Farrell_ had asked her to, of course), Drake went to talk to her in the office. "You do realize you were hired to be Mr. Warbucks _secretary_ , right?"

"Of course, Drake," Miss Farrell replied, confused as she examined some documents.

"So that's what you should be doing," Drake continued firmly. "You don't need to take care of the household as well. That's always been _my_ job. Mr. Warbucks has always been very pleased with me, so don't try to tell me otherwise."

Miss Farrell seemed to be surprised, but Drake couldn't believe she actually _was_. There was no way the woman was _that_ innocent. "Drake, all I'm trying to do is make things easier for Mr. Warbucks. It seems to me he works better when certain things are in place."

"Yes, I'm already aware of that. I've been working for the boss a lot longer than you have, after all. Just do _your_ job and like _me_ do mine, please." Drake got up to leave, sure he'd made his point clear, when Mr. Warbucks appeared in the doorway. "Hello, sir. Are you finished with breakfast? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes Drake," Mr. Warbucks barked, looking like he'd like to throw Drake across the room. Instead, he grabbed the butler's hand roughly. "You can _let_ Miss Farrell do her job. Which will include running the household from now on. Everything she's been doing for the past couple of weeks has been fine. If you have any problems with her, you can take them up with me."

Drake nodded. He wanted to protest that managing the household was supposed to be _his_ job, and there was no way he was going to answer to a woman, a mere secretary at that! But Drake wasn't stupid. If he disagreed with anything Mr. Warbucks said, he would be out of a job. Despite all the changes that had been made recently, being Mr. Warbucks butler was still a good job. He wasn't willing to give it up.

Mr. Warbucks wasn't taking that for an answer, though. "Drake? Will you let Miss Farrell do her job?"

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"And Drake? Get me another box of cigars for the office."

"Yes, sir." At least there were _some_ parts of his job Drake could still do.

 **I'd love some reviews, if you have the time. I've never written** _ **Annie**_ **before, so I'd like to know how you think I did. And my policy for reviews is always for honest reviews, please, whether they're good, bad, or a little of both.**


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